" "Thou sayst sooth, O
holy man," rejoined Sherkan, "for indeed I have been witness of
this; so, if thou canst set out at the first of the night, it
will be the better for us." "I will set out forthright," replied
she; "and, an thou wilt, thou shalt go with me, and none shall
see thee. If thy brother also have a mind to go, we will take
him, but none else; for the shadow of a saint can cover but two."
"As for me," said Sherkan, "I will not leave my comrades; but, if
my brother please, he will do well to go with thee and win free
of this strait; for he is the stronghold of the Muslims and the
sword of the Lord of the two worlds; and if it be his pleasure,
let him take with him the Vizier Dendan, or whom else he may
choose, and send us ten thousand horse to succour us against
these villains." So they agreed to this and Dhat ed Dewahi said,
"Wait till I go on before you and look if the infidels be asleep
or awake." Quoth they, "We will go with thee and trust our affair
to God." "If I do your bidding," replied she, "do not blame me,
but blame yourselves; for it is my counsel that you wait till I
have spied you out the state of the case." Then said Sherkan, "Go
and return quickly, for we shall be awaiting thee." So she went
out and Sherkan turned to his brother and said, "Were not this
holy man a miracle-worker, he had never slain yonder doughty
knight. This is a sufficient measure of his power, and indeed the
strength of the infidels is broken by the slaying of their
leader, for he was a fierce warrior and a stubborn devil.
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